Eric Reeder, better known to BTS competitors as eazyeric, has surged into first place on the BTS leaderboard with a 35-game streak.

A resident of Essexville, Mich., Reeder has been relying on timely hits from his hometown Tigers to build his impressive streak. Reeder likes going with his favorite player, Placido Polanco, as well as other Detroit stalwarts like Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez, although he says he won’t hesitate to use a guy like Ichiro Suzuki when the situation calls for it.

As Reeder has learned, however, favoring the home team in fantasy games has its price. Like the Tigers, Reeder has had his fair share of ups and downs this season, especially in the early going. Reeder went as far as to describe his experience with the game as “very stressful,” a sentiment that legions of other BTS competitors can surely understand.

“I must have started over at least 20 times,” Reeder says, “especially with the way the Tigers started the season.”

But like his beloved Tigers, Reeder seems to finally have found his groove. His 35-game streak is tied for the sixth-longest of the season. And if Detroit’s hitters stay hot and Reeder’s picks keep producing, the newest BTS leader just may give Joe DiMaggio a run for his money.

Beat the Streak’s season-long roller-coaster ride showed no signs of slowing down this weekend as four of Friday’s Top 5 competitors were unable to last until Monday. New leader eazyeric, the only member of Friday’s Top 5 to survive the tumultuous weekend, surged into the All-Star break with a 35-game streak when Placido Polanco laced a fifth-inning single off Minnesota righty Nick Blackburn on Sunday.

Second-place contestant stormrider1 celebrated his ascent into the Top 5 by picking Kansas City center fielder David DeJesus on Sunday. DeJesus stretched stormrider1’s streak to 33 games by singling in the bottom of the third against Seattle righty Carlos Silva.

The rest of the Top 5 used a trio of American Leaguers to keep their streaks intact. Third-place competitor anthony.tynan took a rain check when his pick, Alex Rios, did not play in Sunday’s game against the Yankees. Fourth-place competitor yelmurb24 capitalized on the relentless Ian Kinsler, who went 3-for-5 against the White Sox to stretch his own hit streak to 25 games. garykittilsen rounded out the Top 5 by going with BTS stalwart Ichiro Suzuki, who scratched out a 1-for-4 effort with a leadoff single in Seattle’s tilt with the Royals.

Beat the Streak leader mday1018 continued his pursuit of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game record by riding the bat of another Bronx legend, Derek Jeter. The Yankees captain singled to lead off New York’s tilt with the Pirates, stretching mday1018’s streak to 35 games.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Top 5 stayed intact for the third straight day. Second-place competitor slumley kept pace thanks to Ian Kinsler, who scratched out a 1-for-5 effort with a second-inning single off Angels starter John Lackey.

Fifth-place contestant hej2duk331 was given a stress-free night compliments of Hanley Ramirez, who went 5-for-6 against Chan Ho Park and the Dodgers. Rounding out the Top 5, eazyeric and hdchannell received just enough from Placido Polanco (1-for-6) and Nick Markakis (1-for-4) to stay alive.

New BTS leader mday1018 celebrated his first day atop the leaderboard by extending his streak to 34 games. His surge toward the record books continued when Alex Rodriguez singled off Edwin Jackson in the third inning of the Yankees’ win over Tampa Bay.

A trio of other Top 5 competitors rode the bat of red-hot Dustin Pedroia, who went 2-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. His seventh-inning double off Minnesota reliever Brian Bass helped fifth-place contestant hej2duk331 reach the 30-game milestone, putting all contestants of the Top 5 into 30-game territory.

Fans made Lance Berkman the most-picked player just one day after he went 0-for-1 with four walks. The Houston slugger drew two more free passes yesterday, but singled off Pittsburgh starter John Van Benschoten in the fourth inning to finish with a 1-for-2 effort.Yesterday’s Top 5 most selected players

Yesterday’s Beat the Streak leader, dalmeetz048, saw his 34-game streak come to an end after Lance Berkman went hitless in five trips to the dish in Pittsburgh. Berkman’s plate patience proved to be deadly for dalmeetz048, as the hulking first baseman drew four walks in the Astros’ loss to the Pirates.

With dalmeetz048 forced to regroup, new leader mday1018 claimed the top spot on the strength of a 2-for-4 effort from Derek Jeter. mday1018’s 33-game streak gives him a slim lead over second-place competitor slumley, who extended his streak to 32 games after Matt Holliday singled against CC Sabathia in the southpaw’s National League debut.

Top 5 newcomer hej2duk331 put himself one game away from the 30-game milestone with some help from the sizzling Ian Kinsler. The surging second baseman extended his own hitting streak to 20 games after doubling against Angels lefty Joe Saunders in Texas.

Beat the Streak leader dalmeetz048 took another step toward the record books on the strength of a 2-for-5 effort from Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. The leader’s 34-game streak is the sixth longest this season.

The second- and third-place contestants rode the scorching bats of Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler. The All-Star second basemen extended their own hit streaks to 15 games and 19 games, respectively, and in the process helped mday1018 and slumley keep pace with the leader.

Meanwhile, eazyeric and hdchannell rounded out the Top 5 by surviving on one-hit efforts from Hanley Ramirez and J.D. Drew.

Fans who made Chase Utley yesterday’s highest-picked player were rewarded when the second baseman went yard off Pedro Martinez in the fourth inning of yesterday’s Phillies-Mets slugfest. Chipper Jones, who leads the Majors with a .384 average and was yesterday’s fourth-most-picked player, was held hitless in three at-bats as Hiroki Kuroda tossed a one-hit gem against the Braves in Los Angeles.

Five years ago, Scott Lumley was a fresh-faced rookie competing in his first fantasy baseball league. Today, the seasoned gamer is using his fantasy baseball knowledge to chase down a $1 million cash prize.

Scott, better known as “slumley” to his Beat the Streak presented by Mitchum competitors, entered Tuesday’s action with a 31-game streak, good for third-longest among active players.

A participant of Beat the Streak presented by Mitchum for two years, Scott also has fantasy teams in the MLB.com 2008 Open, Yahoo and ESPN leagues, and a keeper/auction league with his friends. In fact, the Ontario, Canada, resident has become so ensconced in fantasy baseball that he now favors individual players over one specific team.

“I was at one time a rabid Blue Jays fan,” Scott said. “I’ve been playing fantasy baseball so long, I no longer have a favorite team.”

Scott says his favorite hitters are Hanley Ramirez, Ian Kinsler, Alex Rodriguez, Chase Utley and Matt Holliday. And though he’s managed to keep his streak alive using studs like those listed above, one of his most memorable moments came when he called upon a less-heralded hero.

On June 30, Scott had come up empty in his search for a promising matchup until he stumbled upon the unsung Mike Aviles. Though the 27-year-old shortstop had fewer than 100 at-bats going into the game, Scott noticed that he was raking against left-handers. With southpaw Brian Burres on the hill for the Orioles that day, Scott decided to gamble on his diamond in the rough. The gritty move paid off, as Aviles ended up swatting a pair of singles and scoring the game’s winning run in the top of the 11th.

“It was really satisfying seeing the leaders’ hitters listed — there was Ichiro and Berkman and A-Rod and Jeter, and I was the only guy on the list with Mike Aviles,” Scott said.

Using lesser-known players like Aviles has helped Scott build his streak into the 30s, but the third-place contestant understands the importance of bona-fide stars as well. He says that Kinsler and Holliday have been “money” for him when he’s used them in the right spots, but one superstar he will never use is Albert Pujols. According to Scott, Prince Albert is just too lethal for his own good.

Scott’s impressive streak and extensive fantasy background are far from being the only noteworthy elements of his life. The London native describes himself as a “full-time dad” before anything else. His plan, providing he wins the $1 million grand prize, clearly displays his family-first attitude.

“I’d buy my family a home and set up a college fund for my little boy,” Scott said. “He’s only 11 months old, but you can never start that stuff too early.”

Outside of being a family man, Scott is also a contributor to the film Web site boxofficeprophets.com. And though Scott may liken himself to a prophet of the movie industry now, people may soon consider him a prophet of another sort if he continues his run into the BTS record books.

spooky93’s season-high 48-game streak may be over, but the race for 57 is still on. New leader dalmeetz048 extended his streak to 33
games on the strength of a 2-for-4 effort from Texas All-Star Josh Hamilton.
Second-place contestant mday1018 stayed two games behind the leader
thanks to a 2-for-4 night from Yankees All-Star Alex Rodriguez.

eazyeric, whose 28-game streak puts him in a tie for fourth place with
hdchannel, stayed alive with a first-inning double by Placido Polanco.
The early hit proved to be a lifesaver for eazyeric, as Polanco didn’t
manage a hit in his remaining six trips to the dish in the Tigers’ 15-inning affair.

Beat the Streak leader spooky93
continued to ride the bat of Ichiro Suzuki, who went 3-for-3 against
the Blue Jays. The BTS leader has made Ichiro his go-to-guy, picking
the Seattle center fielder more times (11) than any other player.
spooky93 enters Thursday’s action just 10 games shy of the $1,000,000
grand prize.

The
rest of the Top 5 also stayed alive thanks to a 25-run rumble between
the Yankees and the Rangers. Capitalizing on the Bronx Bombers’ 18-run
barrage was dalmeetz048 (Derek Jeter), mday1018 (A-Rod) and tooley.3
(Johnny Damon). slumley rounded out the Top 5 by receiving a 1-for-4
effort from Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler.

For the second
straight day, fans picked A-Rod more than any other player. The slugger
turned in a 2-for-3 effort and drilled his 17th long ball of the year.
Albert Pujols was the fourth-most picked player, but he was held
hitless in five at-bats against Pedro Martinez and the Mets bullpen.

Beat the Streak leader spooky93 extended his season-high streak to 47 games Wednesday night thanks to Ichiro Suzuki, who collected a single in his first at-bat off Toronto’s Dustin McGowan and finished with a 3-for-3 night in Seattle.

spooky93 enters Thursday’s action a mere three games short of setting the all-time Beat the Streak mark and just 10 games shy of the $1,000,000 grand prize.

More updates to follow on Thursday morning, including the experts’ picks of the day and a recap of Wednesday’s other highlights on the BTS leaderboard.

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